07/07/2025
WHAT if I am being STALKED in Russia? 🙈🏃🇷🇺
Today I would like to talk about such an unexpected topic as stalking in Russia. Stalking is a repeated obsessive persecution of another person. An ex-partner or a persistent admirer can wait at the entrance, bombard with letters, send gifts, spread false rumors about the victim, break into the apartment or even threaten to kill. How to resist this?
Although both genders face this problem, women are more often the victims of stalking. Despite this fact, the following information applies, of course, to both men and women.
⚖️ In Russian law there is no separate concept of «stalking» and, consequently, no punishment for it, unlike the USA, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Canada, etc. Russian legislators have attempted to criminalize stalking several times, most recently in 2024, but each time the bills failed to become law - either the interpretation was too broad, or it was unclear how to implement the law, in general, this question still remains open. But this doesn't mean that the stalker will definitely go unpunished.
👮 PUNISHMENTS
👮 Installing trackers on a car, video cameras near an apartment or in an apartment, and other methods of collecting information fall under Article 137 of the Criminal Code (CC) of the Russian Federation «Violation of Privacy». Punishments include fines, community service, and even prison time, as well as a ban on holding certain positions.
👮 The same article applies in the case of hacking a personal page on social networks, as well as Art. 272 of the CC «Illegal use and/or transfer, collection and/or storage of computer information containing personal data». It depends on what the stalker did with the page and the information on it.
👮 Special attention should be paid to situations where a crazy fan hacks the victim's page and takes intimate photos and videos from there to distribute on the Internet, as well as where an ex-partner threatens to distribute such photos to friends on social networks. Such a blackmailer should remember that the circulation of pornographic materials is punishable by a fine, community service or imprisonment under the CC, Art. 242. By the way, all the articles that were mentioned imply a more severe punishment if the offense is committed against a minor.
👮 A stalker can take information not only from personal correspondence, but also buy it from some open illegal resources, or buy it from organizations where the stalked person worked, was treated, etc. E. g., he told a fact that you were hiding from everyone. In this case, both the pursuer and the person who sold the personal data are fined in accordance with Art. 13.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (CoAO). However, it is usually impossible to find out where the obsessive admirer got the information from.
👮 Stalkers often spread various rumors about their victim to annoy her. There is also criminal liability for defamation - this is Art. 128.1 of the CC. But the person being persecuted should prove that defamation took place - e. g., by recording the slanderer's posts through a notary. Defamation is rarely punishable by imprisonment - usually the offender simply receives a fine.
👮 There are sometimes situations where the persecutor enters the home of his object of passion, then he can be held criminally liable under Art. 139 - «Violation of the inviolability of the home». The burglar faces a fine, community service, or, less commonly, arrest.
👮 If the harasser has damaged any of his victim's property, she can force him to compensate for the damage, (Art. 7.17 of the CoAO) as well as pay a fine and even bring him to criminal liability (Art. 167 of the CC), but the latter only happens if the damage was very large.
👮 And, of course, what those persecuted are most often afraid of is threats of physical violence, not only to the victim herself, but also to her family members and friends. This is punishable by Art. 119 of the CC, and it does not even imply a fine - it will be either community service, or arrest, or imprisonment, and this article implies longer terms.
👀 From my experience, law enforcement agencies do not always take such statements seriously, but nevertheless, it is worth trying to collect evidence and contact the police (or the court), because as soon as a stalker realizes that the police are interested in him or he is threatened with appearing before a judge, as a rule, he cools his ardor. Even if sanctions do not actually follow.
👀 Of course, it is understandable why people are afraid of this - firstly, it puts pressure on the psyche, secondly, it is impossible to predict what is in the head of an obsessed fan - now he is bombarding his beloved with messages from numerous accounts and waiting under the window, and tomorrow he can do something worse. But what should be done in such cases?
❌ WHAT SHOULDN'T YOU DO?
Don't feel guilty for being stalked - it is never the victim's fault, and may happen to everyone. And try to take the stalker's words with a cool head. E. g., if he threatens to commit su***de, it is just unhealthy manipulation. As a rule, such people do not actually want to do so, but to make their prey feel ashamed. Or, e. g., ex-partners threaten to leak confidential photos - they don't always end up doing this, as they are afraid of being judged by mutual friends for treating their ex this way. Plus, they often try first of all not to make their object of passion feel bad, but to make them enter into a relationship with them, and when they realize the beloved is not falling for blackmail, they retreat. Although there is no arguing that cases vary and stalkers have different levels of sanity.
❌ Don't attack the stalker unless there is a direct threat to your health - on the contrary, you need to make the police think that he is crazy, and you are an unfortunate victim. Even though this is done out of fear, for beating you can face the same punishment as if the stalker beat you.
❌ If you have to personally contact your stalker, do not use vague formulations like «maybe» or «later», say a direct «no» to him. Sometimes such people can perceive it as a desire to continue the game. But don't show him that you are scared or angry - this might even more provoke him. If you fail to avoid emotions, it's worth asking a mediator to negotiate, e. g., a family member.
✅ WHAT CAN AND SHOULD YOU DO:
✅ Protect your online data - set up two-factor authentication, change and strengthen your passwords, and delete sensitive information, if any.
✅ Next, as was said, collect evidence. The case may well be opened if there is documented confirmation and witness testimony. However, if there are no illegal actions in the actions of the pursuer, e. g., he is just constantly sending flowers and firing messages at you, they will simply refuse to accept your report.
✅ It is a good idea to warn your friends and relatives about the stalker so that they do not fall for his provocations and gossip, and do not give him any information. On your social media page, you can make the situation public, but without unnecessary emotions, so that people who have been added to your friends block the abuser when trying to contact them.
✅ I would recommend asking the abuser a question, but not in a personal conversation, but via messenger or over the phone (to document the dialogue), what is he going to do if you ignore him? What will his actions be? Get him to give a direct answer - if he starts threatening you, this will only play into your hands, since you can complain to law enforcement agencies. Ask to bring the perpetrator to justice and state that you perceive the threats as real. Do this even if you don't know his personal details - it is the police's responsibility to find the offender.
But if in response to your question the intrusive fan declares he will take his own life, he has simply run out of arguments, you can easily put him on the blacklist.
By the way, if the police do nothing, it is also worth filing a complaint with the prosecutor's office about their inaction.
✅ What to do if the stalker is waiting for you at the door? You could call the police, but if you call them saying «there's a man standing here, he's scaring me», the policemen won't arrive soon - if they have a choice between an emergency and an imaginary danger, it’s clear what they will choose. So, you can enter into an agreement with the non-departmental security of the Russian Guard (Rosgvardiya) to install a so-called panic button. It costs not much, no more than 300 rubles monthly. In fact, all you need to do is call the security console number from your cell phone. No one will answer the call to find out the details. The service is commercial, so the employees will simply arrive and sort out what happened on the spot. The armed people in the uniform will ask who is standing at your door and why. If it is your neighbor, he will go home with no problem. And if the person cannot explain what he is doing here, he will be escorted to the exit or taken to the department to establish his identity.
✅ In some cases, it is possible to recognize a person as mentally unstable and send them involuntarily for psychiatric treatment, but this is difficult and is only possible if the person demonstrates obvious aggression towards others and/or themselves, but this should also ideally be documented. Sure thing that if he is threatening to attack you right now, you can call a psychiatric crew, but of course, no one would want the situation to come to that. Note that (from my personal experience) private ambulance crews respond to such calls more quickly and willingly than governmental ones.
✅ You can instead protect yourself by separating yourself from possible stalking by avoiding deserted places, deleting Internet pages, asking a relative to accompany you to and from home, or temporarily living somewhere else. But it is unlikely that this will stop the pursuer - you can only wait until he loses interest in you, which is basically also a tactic, but may take longer. A couple of scoldings from men in uniform usually make an obsessed admirer cool off towards his passion quicker and more effectively. In addition, the stalker may be inspired by the fact he scared you if he had such a goal. But if you think he may be dangerous, do it. And if you failed to persuade law enforcement officers to influence him, yes, that is also an option.
✅ If the persecution continues despite the fact that much time has passed, (which rarely happens because such people get bored with their «toy» after a while), despite the fact that you have tried to influence the stalker through the court, the police or psychiatrists, and if leaving the country for your homeland is not the right option for you, then it makes sense to contact special organizations that help victims resort to extreme measures such as taking a shelter or changing the city of residence.
Hope you have not encountered and will not encounter this problem, and if this did happen, feel free to contact our team.
